Starting Over
by Elitejumper
Summary: Set when Sam comes back from San Francisco. Alternative story line to the books. SAKE. This is my first chapter story, and flames are welcome. T for language
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Hey guys! This is my first story that isn't a one-shot. Flames welcomed and encouraged.**

~~~~••~~~~

So, I'm sitting in my dad's truck on the way home from the airport. I had spent the last two years with my uncle in San Francisco because of a riding accident that occurred when I was thirteen. I ended up with bad head injuries, so my dad sent me to live with my mother's brother. I'm sitting there thinking about that day. I don't remember much because I suffered from a severe concussion. I had been training my colt with Jake, and I was on the colt's back. We were trying to get him to go through a gate. As we were trying to do that, a black plastic bag flew through across the ground. I'm not really sure exactly how I fell, but in some form or fashion, the colt's hoof struck my head and ended up cracking my skull. My father made me leave for San Francisco as soon as I was cleared to get out of bed. I have been gone for two years, and I am really nervous to get back to the ranch. I haven't ridden since my accident, and I have forgotten lots of things due to my head injury. I remember Jake and his brothers, my Gram, my Dad, and Bolt, our dog, but not much else.

As we pull over a bridge into the ranch yard, a memory crosses my mind. The day Blackie was born. I smile to myself, but then I remember than no one has seen him since my accident. As I get out of the truck, a dark skinned, black haired cowboy walks my way. He is tall and handsome with a strong jaw, but the rest of his face is hidden under his hat. Once he is standing in front of me, he pushes his hat back, and I gasp. Holy cow! It's Jake. Dang. He has changed. He is now taller than me.

He smiles and says "hey brat". I don't know why, but I just burst out laughing. He looks at me funny, but he laughs with me. Once I stop laughing, I realize how much deeper his voice is. I pull him into a hug, and he rubs the back of his neck. I instantly remember that this is something that he does when he is uncomfortable, so I just pull him in tighter. He sighs and hugs me back, knowing that the sooner that he does, the sooner I will let go of him. My Gram comes running out of the house and hugs me. I laugh and hug her back.

She turns to Jake. " Dear, will you stay for dinner?" He rubs the back of his neck. I look at him pleadingly, and he sighs.

"Yes ma'am". I laugh at the way he says it because I know that there was no chance that he would turn her cooking down.

Both she and my father return to the house and I follow Jake into the barn. My dad sticks his head out and yells, "Jake, show her that horse you have been working with for her." I glance at Jake and see his tan face color.


	2. Chapter 2

"What horse? You trained a horse for me?"

He looks down, his face covered in blush. "Not actually a horse. Technically, he is a pony". I just look at him and then run towards the barn. I hear him follow me, and I wait at the entrance. He walks past me and stops at a stall. I walk over to him and look into the stall. The pony looks back at me through his long lashes, and I turn and look at Jake.

"Why would you do this for me?" I whisper.

He looks at me, and his dark eyes search my blue ones before he responds.

"Have to make sure that you don't get hurt again because of me" He mutters so quietly that I barely hear him. I am so stunned that I just look into his face. I start to cry, and he hugs me.

"Please don't tell me that you blame yourself for this, Jake. It was an accident. Accidents happen."

He just shakes his head. "Of course I blame myself for it. It was my idea, and I wasn't able to stop you from getting hurt." I have never seen him cry, but he is crying now.

I nestle into his chest and hold him tightly. After a while, I look up into his face and touch his jaw, wiping away a tear. "Jake, it wasn't your fault. Please."

"You don't understand, Sam. It was my fault, and I am never going to let you be hurt like that again. Ever." Then, so quietly that I barely understood him, "I missed you so much".

"You….you missed me? Why?" I choke out, not meeting his eyes.

He touches my jaw and turns my face up towards his. "How could I not miss you? You are my best friend. You make me laugh, and trust me, that is not easy to do. You are always here when I need you, and even when I don't. I can't live without you longer that I already have."

I am so shocked that I don't know what to do. Therefore, I resort to something that I do know. Teasing.

"That is the most words I have ever heard you say at once." I say, laughing.

His face colors and he rubs the back of his neck. I hug him again and feel him relax against me, something that I have never felt him do before. We stand there until Gram calls us in for dinner.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry that the chapters are so short. I decided to keep them short but post more frequently.**

**On with the story!**

As we walk into the kitchen, the smell of fried chicken and mashed potatoes overwhelms us.

"Go wash up. Both of you." Gram says from the sink. I walk into the bathroom in the hall, and Jake follows me. I wash my hands and return to the kitchen. I hear the water run and then turn off. Jake walks back into the kitchen.

We both sit at the table and Gram puts plates in front of us. We both start to eat and Gram starts to small talk with us. Well actually, more like an interrogation of Jake.

"Jake, any new horses at Five Ponies?"

"No ma'am."

"You have a girl to call your own yet?"

Jake's face colors and he rubs his neck. He glances at me for a split second, and then he looks back at Gram.

"No ma'am, I don't."

"Have anyone in mind?"

I snort and they both look at me. I am laughing, and I barely manage to choke out, "Sorry, continue with the interrogation."

Gram frowns at me and Jake snorts. Soon we are both laughing so hard that I am crying. Once we stop, Jake looks back at Gram.

"No ma'am, can't think of anyone."

At that I feel a pang in my heart. At first I think it was because I feel bad for him because he deserves so much more, but then I realize that it is because deep down, I might, just might, have feelings that are more than friendship for him.


	4. Chapter 4

After dinner, Jake leaves. I go upstairs and turn on the water and jump in the shower. As I stand there with the water running over my body, I think about that thought that I had at dinner. There is no way that I could like Jake as anything more than a friend, right?

"No way." I say out loud to myself. I brush that thought out of my mind and start to sing.

"_If you can see that I'm the one who understands you_

_Been here all along so why can't you see_

_You belong with me_

_Standing by and waiting at your back door_

_All this time how could you not know_

_Baby, you belong with me_

_You belong with me_

_Oh, I remember you drivin' to my house in the middle of the night_

_I'm the one who makes you laugh_

_When you know you're about to cry_

_And I know your favorite songs_

_And you tell me about your dreams_

_I think I know where you belong_

_I think I know it's with me_

_Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you_

_Been here all along so why can't you see_

_You belong with me_

_Standing by and waiting at your back door_

_All this time_

_How could you not know_

_Baby you belong with me_

_You belong with me_

_You belong with me_

_Have you ever thought just maybe_

_You belong with me_

_You belong with me"_

I stop singing and turn the water off. I jump in bed and fall asleep immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note:**

**Decided to make this one longer and not to make y'all wait. **

**Enjoy!**

_**2 weeks later...**_

I wake up to my alarm clock ringing. I turn it off and quickly get dressed. I run out to the barn to see my horse, when suddenly I hit a wall. Actually, it isn't a wall. I run straight into Jake's chest. He wraps his arms around me to stop me from falling. I look up at him, and he smirks.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" I slap his shoulder.

" To the barn, smart one."

"I'll come with you." We head towards the barn.

As soon as we get in the barn, it starts to pour rain. We continue with our chores, and we finish quickly. Then I hear Jake cuss.

"What?" I ask him.

" Your dad says to stay in the barn. There is a flash flood watch, hail, and a tornado warning. We are supposed to stay here until it is all clear."

"Oh, okay. What do you want to do?"

"Sleep?"

"Jake….."

"Please? I had to get up super early to get over here and work with your father's mare."

I snort. "And what do you consider 'early'?"

"3:15 am" He drawls.

I look at him shocked. "Yeah okay. Go to sleep."

He sits against the wall of the barn and pulls his hat over his face. I sit there and read a book that I found in the tack room, but all of a sudden I am really cold.

"Jake?"

He sighs. "Yeah?"

"I'm cold."

He sighs and stands up.

"Let's go in the tack room."

I follow him into the tack room. He sits on the floor again and motions for me to sit next to him. I do, but I am super confused. I gasp a little when he slides his arm around me.

He looks up. "Y'ok?"

"Yeah sorry."

He moves his hat back over his face, and I hesitate. He tilts his hat up enough to look at me.

"You can lean against me if you want." As soon as the words come out of his mouth, he colors and pulls his hat back over his face. I lean against him and lay my head on his shoulder. His breath evens out pretty quickly, so I know that he is asleep. He subconsciously pulls me tighter against his side, and I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his shoulder. We fall asleep like that.

~~~~••~~~~

A few hours later, I wake up with his jawline resting on my nose, tucked into his side as closely as possible. I don't want to wake him, so I don't move. After a while, I have to scratch an itch on my leg. As I do, he jolts awake. He looks down at me as I look up at him.

"Hey there Sleeping Beauty." I tease.

"Aw, thanks! I am glad that you think that I am beautiful."

I slap his shoulder and he snorts. Suddenly, we both realize the position that we are in. I color, but he just smirks.

"Uncomfortable?" he asks, smirk still on his face.

"A bit " I say with a laugh as I push him away.

As soon as I do, I regret it. One, because I end up cold, but two, because of the look on his face. It is a look that I have never seen cross his face. He looks…. upset almost. It really hurts me to see him like this.

All of a sudden, an alarm goes off, and we hear howling. Jake jumps up and grabs my arm, dragging me toward the tack room. When we get in there, he flips up the carpet and opens an hatch in the ground. He motions me to climb own the ladder, and I do, but I still don't know what is happening. He jumps down after me and closes the hatch, and then he pulls me to the corner. Once in the corner, we sit down. I look at him, a bit scared.

"What is happening?"

He looks at me like I am crazy. "Tornado." he says.

Just then, there is a huge crash. I jump, and he pulls me closer. I'm really scared now. I bury my face in his shoulder, and I can feel him shaking. We stay like that until there is another huge crash outside. We both jump, and we can soon feel the winds. He pulls me really close, and I look up at him. Our eyes meet, and all of a sudden, his lips are on mine. I jerk back, startled. Our eyes meet, and he looks really upset.

"Damn. Jake, I didn't mean to react like that. You just startled me. I'm sorry."

"Whatever" he says, standing up. "Storm is over."

I realize that he is correct. I stand up and follow him.

"Half the horses are gone. Let's go in the house and call your father."

We walk back to the house and call my father.


	6. Chapter 6

We get into the house, and he walks straight to the phone and calls my dad, who was at the Ely's. I can only hear one half of the conversation, but I listen anyway.

"Yessir, we are fine."

"Yeah, D'you want me to go after them?"

"Bring Samantha? Are you crazy?"

"Yes sir. Sorry sir."

We go out to the barn to get horses to ride out and find the rest of our horses. Jake hops on Witch, and I get on Strawberry because Ace went with everyone else. We ride across the bridge in awkward silence. He finally turns to me, and I think that he wants to talk about, ya know…..what happened earlier.

"Where do you think that they would have gone?"

I sigh. "No idea."

All of a sudden, he stops Witch and looks at me.

"Samantha, we both know that they are with that stallion. Now where is his hideout?"  
I am suddenly angry with him.

"Why would I tell you? Why should I tell you anything? You won't even talk to me because you are awkward and scared because you kissed me. You are a coward, and if you really think that I would share his secret with you, then you don't know me as well as ya thought." I scream at him. I turn Strawberry around and gallop home. I can hear him following me, begging to talk to me, but I just keep going. When I get home, I quickly unsaddle and brush Strawberry and then run inside, straight up to my room. I hear Jake enter the house and silently curse myself for not locking the door. He walks upstairs, and I can hear him hesitate at the door.

"Sam? Can I come in? Please?"

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
"Sam, please. I really need to talk to you."

"NOT FACE TO FACE YA DON'T."  
I hear him sigh and sit down, his back against my door.

"Okay, look. I don't even know where to start. Ever since you climbed out of your dad's truck that day you came home, I have had feelings for you. I kissed you because I wanted to, but I chickened out on talking about it because I was scared that you would reject me. I was hoping that everything could go back to normal, but I realize that I was wrong about that. You can't forget kissing your best friend. Sam, I am so sorry that I messed everything up. I just don't know how to fix it."

I hear him hide his face, and I think that he is crying. Jake Ely is crying because of me. I get up and slowly walk to the door, hoping that he

won't hear me. I quickly open the door, and he falls backward. I sit down next to him and remove his hands from his face, and I gently wipe

a tear off of his jaw. Before I can think, I lean forward and kiss him. I feel him hesitate, so I push harder, asking him to respond. I feel him

grin against my mouth, and soon his tongue is running along my lip asking for entrance, which I gladly give.

After a while, we both pull away, breathless.


End file.
